The Broken Cross
by PallaPlease
Summary: What if Hilde had met a certain Gundam pilot when both he and she were twelve?  [Complete]


TITLE: The Broken Cross  
WRITTEN: February 4, 2001.  
AUTHOR: PallaPlease (pen-name)  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yeah, well, goodness knows I need sleep. Not healthy for an eight grade girl like me to stay up to all hours writing WAFF constantly. Anyway, don't get your hopes up for any of the normal couplings. So, this is a weird romance fanfic! Yeah! The plot is strange, the romance leaves much desired, and it's basically my usual crap! I'm so proud of my lack of writing ability! *sobs happily* (Reverse psychology. Never fails me.)   
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: The time system I use in this story goes on the basic idea that the Gundam pilots are fifteen in A.C. 195 as well as the leading ladies. I apologize for misspelling any names (For example, Hilde Schbeiker, goodness knows that certainly isn't right!) or using incorrect terms. 'Nanashi' is the name Midii Une calls Trowa in a certain manga (C'mon people! Mixx, Viz, somebody! Translate it!), I believe it means 'no name'. However, Nanashi is the only element I use from that manga in this fanfic. This is undoubtedly an AU-ish fic for the anime. On a side note, Trowa looks very Greek to me at least, so I describe him with the word Greek or Latin a few times. (I've spoiled the plot by now.)  
WARNING: WAFF stuff ahead! WAFF is translated as meaning Warm And Fuzzy Feeling.   
SUMMARY: What if Hilde had met a certain Gundam pilot when both he and she were twelve? The first pangs of adolescent love are bittersweet…but, of course, love finds a way. Doesn't it? WAFF alert!  
NOTE: Read/don't read/review/weep/flame! Yeah, flame me! FLAME ME!!! *lol*  
  
*****()*****  
A.C. 192  
*****()*****  
  
Slipping through the mud, streams of salty tears melting into the rivers of raindrops coursing down her cheeks. A dark purple and black bruise covered the side of her head, ugly and sore to eyesight. She was scrawny and small, uneven blue-black hair hanging limply about her thin features. The citizens of the colony were in too much of a hurry to pay attention to a frightened child of twelve years, insignificant and poorly dressed as she was.  
  
Hilde Schbeiker was scared. Not of strangers or being lost, but of the raging cousin who 'took care' of her. She was so tall and muscular, frightening and abusive. The teachers knew something was wrong, but nobody tried to help. They left her to the drunken fists, turning a purposeful blind eye to her suffering, a deaf ear to her pleas.  
  
Choking back a bewildered sob, she wrapped her thin arms around herself, hugging her body as tightly as she could without bruising her delicate, pale skin anymore than it already was. An edgy feeling of dread kept her nervous and shivering, though the latter was caused more by the chill feel of icy rain pumped through mechanical pipes. Umbrellas and raincoats dotted the streets, every person having remembered the scheduled rainfall.  
  
Hurrying along the street, bare feet light blue and freezing, she ignored the adults and children like they ignored her.  
  
And then she heard *her*.   
  
"Hilde, back here now!"  
  
Whirling around, a half-strangled scream forming in her throat, she spared her cousin one terrified sweep of her eyes before bolting, pushing people aside with surprising strength.  
  
'Dear cousin's' enraged yells faded as the woman met greater obstacles than the girl, unable to squeeze between annoyed people like Hilde's frail frame could.  
  
Minutes formed a mindless, frenzied blur in her dizzy mind until, exhausted and aching all over, she came to a stop, sniffling and dripping wet, in front of a half-circle of a window above a large, unnamed factory building. Wrapping her numb fingers around the handle, she pulled with all her might, slowly opening it as far as she was able to.  
  
Slipping through the crack and unceremoniously tumbling to the cold, hard cement floor, Hilde dragged herself across it to a pile of flour bags, using her quaking hands and arms to create a makeshift bed. The basement was ill-lit, large crates labeled 'Gundanium', whatever that meant, on their sides and a few worktables set up. A small oil lamp was perched beside a box of matches on the one nearest her and common sense told her to take it over to the flour bags and light it.  
  
This, of course, she did.  
  
The weak, but comforting, heat and light the lamp granted her gave her a tiny boost of morale, then sensibility kicked in again. The ragged, damp clothes she was wearing were quickly becoming unbearably cold and she hastily lifted her worn shirt over her head and peeled her pants off. Both her over sized brassiere and her panties were soaked, but modesty prevented her from taking those off. Desperately scanning the room, resourceful mind taking in all the details, her large, haunted blue eyes landed on a wooly, warm appearing comforter folded neatly in a corner.  
  
A few more moments passed swiftly and then she was settled into the molded bags, the thick blanket wrapped firmly around her.  
  
Sleep came and she slumbered silently, the heat of the lamp and the blanket preventing sickness.  
  
*  
  
Nanashi descended the staircase, face neutral and carefully guarded. The great monster of a machine lay dormant in a chamber several corridors away in the maze of the factory; he was one of the many mechanics privileged enough to work on it. Yet he had no home to return to when the day's work was done. So he lived in the basement.  
  
Pausing on the last step, he narrowed his vivid green eyes, set like mesmerizing emeralds into a Greek face, tanned and hauntingly beautiful. The lamp was lit and set on the floor beside the once tidy pile of bagged flour, the insulative blanket that he lay claim to owning tightly wrapped about a shapeless bundle.   
  
Soundlessly creeping across the floor to the figure, he crouched beside it, tugging back the edge of the blanket to find the thin, glistening wet face of a girl near his own age. A flicker of surprise fluttered through his eyes in an instant, the chestnut brown bangs unevenly long on one side, covering his left eye effectively.  
  
She was unhealthily gaunt, malnutrition evident and, if the dark bruise coating her face was any indication, abuse as well.  
  
Teetering momentarily between the choices of waking her or letting the girl lie, he decided on the second option, electing to use the remaining sacks of flour to create his own cot on the other side of the lamp. Hopefully, she would still be asleep when he woke up.  
  
*  
  
When Hilde finally opened her eyes, she hazily noticed a tall, slender boy working on something nearby. Her tired mind found nothing out of the ordinary with it, so she prepared herself to return to slumber.  
  
"You're awake."  
  
The matter of fact tone of his voice, almost nonexistent, was what caused her to snap her eyes open again. Frozen and unnerved by his steady gaze, she sat up…then scrambled for the blanket and pressed it to her chest, acutely aware of her state. An uncomfortable blush tinted her ears and cheeks.  
  
He stared at her a moment longer, the brilliant green eye visible burning a hole in her, then returned his attention to the pieces of metal laying on the worktable.  
  
"I laid out new clothing. I would recommend you get dressed."  
  
His voice sounded dead and empty, like he had no need for emotions. Unsure of whether he would look, she swallowed nervously, wording her fears with, "Turn around." He obeyed and she wriggled out from under the cover, snatching up the pale yellow sweater and creamy brown pants, both a size or so too large. Smiling joyfully, she decided to thank the boy later.  
  
Nanashi continued working on the pieces, forcing himself to pay no attention to the sounds of her dressing quickly.  
  
Time ticked away and finally, her unique voice piped, "Okay, I'm decent."  
  
He quirked his eyebrow up at her choice of words, then turned to look at her. She kept her eyes locked with his determinedly, blue meeting green.  
  
A spark of some unknown emotion screeched through her body, disappearing the instant he tore his eyes from hers.  
  
Silence ensued.  
  
"Who are you?" she finally asked timidly.  
  
He tensed, then relaxed almost invisibly. "I am Nanashi. I have no name."  
  
"Oh." She considered this. "I'm Hilde. I ran away from home." The words came easily, spilling over her lips calmly.  
  
"Why did you do that?" His words genuflected interest, though his blank tone did not.  
  
She shrugged and sat down, legs tucked underneath her body. "My cousin, Gretchen, hits me a lot and I got really scared." Unconsciously, she touched the large bruise on her face and Nanashi noticed the shy movement. "So I left, but she followed me and I came in through the window after I got away."  
  
A thought seemed to occur to her. "You're not going to send me back are you? You can't! She'll hurt me again and it gets worse and worse every time, an' I just know she's gonna kill me some day! I haven't got anybody else but her and you, now, so you just CAN'T take me back!" she cried, tears welling up rapidly, her face frightened and drawn as she frantically searched his.   
  
Nanashi watched her steadily then said, voice soft and promising, "I won't."  
  
He was slightly amazed to see a bright smile blossom on her face and she was up in an instant, arms pulling him into a deep hug. The sudden rush of additional warmth caused by her body pressed against his caught him off guard, sending spiraling waves of some unnamed feeling through his veins.  
  
Those were quickly banished. No distractions. None…  
  
But a curious feeling of elation surged in his chest, not letting him push her away. She needed him.  
  
The cold wall he had let down a little crashed back up and he tensed again. Sensing something was wrong, Hilde let go of him and stared up at him quizzically.   
  
"Will you be my friend?" she broke the silence, voice quiet and wistful.  
  
Nanashi blinked his eyes slowly, nodding hesitantly. She beamed at him and held her pinky out solemnly.  
  
Uncertain of what to do, he held his own pinky out and she wrapped hers around his, smiling all the while. "Now we're friends," she spoke proudly.  
  
*****()*****  
A.C. 192 - 1 Week Later  
*****()*****  
  
Hilde was sufficiently bored with watching her new friend tinkering with tools and what she guessed was Gundanium; the few odd jobs he had let her do with the heavy metal had earned her some money from the bosses, which Nanashi had given her from his paycheck.  
  
"I'm bored," announced she and, frustrated by his response (or lack of one, if the truth be told), she hopped off the table's edge and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, tugging him to his feet impatiently. The bruise on her face had faded to an almost invisible shade of light green and her confidence had soared with the sparse compliments he gave her every now and then.  
  
"We're going outside today, Nanashi, and we are going to go look at stores. I've got seventy-four dollars an' I wanna do something!"  
  
Inwardly, he agreed and, without any outward signs of his agreement in the shape of a nod or a word, he set down his tools and stood, his height of five feet and six inches dwarfing her own precisely four foot-nine height.  
  
Unperturbed by that fact, Hilde linked her arm with his and pulled him out the basement door, letting it shut behind them, automatically locking.   
  
The alley was lit by the artificial sunlight from above, the dirt and trash colored brightly by the light.  
  
"Hurry up, Goliath! I want to get going!" she cheered, using the nickname she'd given him happily.   
  
*  
  
Resting on a wooden park bench, overlooking a body of water, Hilde sat cheerfully slouched, a gold plated necklace hooked around her neck, a glimmering cross hanging from the center of it. Nanashi sat beside her, quiet and reflective. Without warning, Hilde stretched and let her head fall to his shoulder lazily. He felt his muscles tighten, then relax slowly. It felt good.  
  
Fiddling with the gold chain, the German girl yawned half-heartedly. A bubble of contentment whispered into existence, soft and perfectly round.   
  
"Have you ever kissed anyone?" Her question was unexpected and it might have been brought along by the stretch of sparkling water before the two, glowing gold from the 'setting sun'.   
  
Uncertain of where she was going with the question, he softly replied, "No."   
  
She smiled secretly, twisting around to look up at him, blue eyes large and innocent.   
  
Then it hit him.  
  
By the time his brain managed to gasp out a plan, her lips were molded to his lips and his eyes, large with surprise and shock, widened, then drifted shut.  
  
Eternity seemed to drift into their worlds, but, as all things must end, time regained control and their lips separated reluctantly.   
  
She licked hers nervously and one of the corners of his mouth twitched upwards slightly.  
  
"Um…I think I…saw an ice-cream vendor…back…over there," she gestured widely, "and…I think I'll go get some…" Her voice trailed off.  
  
"Ice-cream?" he finished for her and she turned red, nodding fervently.  
  
"Y-yeah, ice-cream." Not needing any persuasion, she leapt up from the bench and raced off to a random part of the park.  
  
Slowing to a walk once she was out of his sight, she hugged herself absently, biting her lip gently.  
  
Sighing dreamily, she leaned against a tree and slid down the trunk, a look of pure bliss on her elfin face as her eyes closed happily.   
  
"There you are, you God forsaken kisama!"  
  
They snapped back open, a look of horror burning on her face.  
  
"Oh, God, please, please don't let it be her…," she prayed, hands flying up to the cross and tightly wrapping around it, the edges digging into her palms. Then she broke the chain, dropping the piece of expensive jewelry and standing up, determined to not let her cousin get it.  
  
Meaty hands slapped her, kicked her, punched her, the bloodshot eyes of Gretchen tormenting her and she was barely conscious when the bigger woman threw Hilde's battered body, struggling to breathe, onto the floor of the cab of her pick-up, carelessly letting her remain there while starting the engine and roaring off down the streets recklessly.  
  
Behind them, in the park, a young boy searched frantically for the girl, finding only a broken cross. That day, he became dead to the world, wearing the cross for her. For her alone.   
  
*****()*****  
A.C. 198  
*****()*****   
  
Trowa's gray tanktop was dark with perspiration, drenched with sweat from his exercises. Pushing his tall, slender body to the limits, he refused to stop the rigorous training sessions he did religiously, every morning, afternoon, and evening.   
  
Relena, Duo, and Quatre had all tried to stop him, but he ignored them with a trained mind. The golden cross looped around his neck dangled during the push-ups and it reminded him of a girl, small and thin, cute in a disarmingly childish way. Groaning softly, he stopped and rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling, tiny droplets of salty sweat dotting his tan skin.   
  
With another sigh, he stood up in a swift series of fluid, graceful motions not unlike a cat's. Relena had said she was having some special dinner tonight, she was inviting all the friends of the pilots. An ironic smile twisted his lips. He had none outside the small circle of the pilots, Catherine, and 'Lena.  
  
"Duo, give me back my tiara!"  
  
"But 'Lena, you look much better without that pokey thing!"  
  
"Tiara, Duo, *tiara*."  
  
Trowa was slightly amused by the conversation he could hear in the hallway. Duo and Relena having another loving moment.  
  
And then a new voice joined them. A voice that tore down the gates and walls of bitter memories and caused his heart to skip a few beats.  
  
"Oi, Hilde, you're early! Hey, if you don't mind and all, would you mind telling clown boy in there to get his a-"  
  
"DUO!"  
  
"I'm sorry, 'Lena!"  
  
A laugh rang out from the newcomer and Trowa felt a lump form in his throat. No distractions…   
  
*  
  
"It's okay, Duo, Relena. I'll get whoever he is for you," Hilde Schbeiker reassured the princess and the young man with his arm around her.  
  
"That's why I love you!" Duo grinned, obviously in a friendly manner.  
  
"Duo…," interjected Relena with a playfully warning tone that he mistook for real.  
  
"But not more than YOU, 'Lena-chan!" he added hastily, earning himself a peck on the cheek and the tiara being stolen from his hands.  
  
Hilde rolled her blue eyes and edged past the unusual couple, pressing the slightly ajar door open fully.  
  
A tall figure, slender and handsome, stood stock still in the center of the room, the bright green eye visible staring at her as if he was seeing a ghost.  
  
And the world came together again.  
  
*****()*****  
FINIS…THANK-GOODNESS.  
*****()*****  
  
End AN: Yes, I know it sucked. Why? Need you assure me? And, before anyone asks, yes, I am VERY supportive of 2xR (Duo X Relena) and 3xH (Trowa X Hilde). I also dabble in 4xN (Quatre X Noin) if you desire to know my other unusual fave couples. *&.^* I'm not very big on writing 1xR (Heero X Relena), but I love reading it! I'm IMMENSELY supportive of 4xD (…oh, come ON. Quatre X Dorothy.) and 6xN (I believe that's Zechs X Noin) as well as 13xU (I hope that's what Treize X Lady Une is). That's just for your info! (And Wufei X Sally on the side…)  
  
Hey, tell me if this fanfic sucks! C'mon, you can do it! *lol* See, I already KNOW it does! 


End file.
